1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a connector, and particularly relates to an optical-electric connector for receiving an audio and an optical plug selectively.
2. Description of Prior Arts
Miniaturized audio visual apparatuses such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) player/recorder, MD (Mini-Disk) player/recorder, etc., portable audio apparatuses such as an MD portable player/recorder, CD portable player/recorder, memory type audio apparatus (audio apparatus using a memory card), etc., personal computer, mobile communication apparatuses such as a mobile phone, pocket or portable telephone etc., or the like have been miniaturized more and more in their external configurations or shapes and dimensions or sizes, and accordingly, an input terminals and/or output terminals built in or mounted to these electronic apparatuses have been also miniaturized. Particularly, in recent years, with the advance of optical connector mounted on thereto as an optical signal input terminal for receiving an optical or light digital signal or an optical signal output terminals for outputting an optical connector to the optical cable.
An optical connector mounted to any one of various electronic apparatuses and appliances has a light receiving element or light emitting element housed in the connector body thereof, and for instance, one of two optical plugs mounted to an optical cable at opposed ends thereof respectively, that transmits an optical or light digital signal is directly plugged in the optical connector, so that an optical digital signal is transmitted from the optical cable to the optical connector or from the optical connector to the optical cable.
A conventional optical-electric connector usually comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of signal terminals received in the housing. And a grounding terminal received in the housing. But in the conventional optical-electric connector, signal terminals are engaged with signal portion of a corresponding plug before the grounding terminal contacts with grounding terminal of the plug connector. A noise may be produced before the grounding terminals contacting each other. Further the conventional optical-electric connector has not provided a detecting terminal for detecting whether an audio plug or an optical plug being plugged in.
Hence, it is desirable to have an optical-electric connector with an improved grounding terminal and detecting terminal to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.